Horizon Institute, an organization advocating for the rule of law and human rights in Somaliland, has urged the government to release more prisoners to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The organization wrote a letter to President Muse Bihi Abdi commending him for issuing a presidential order on April 1, 2020 that directed the country’s prisons to decongest the facilities by releasing some prisoners.
However, it says that the country needs to do more. Consequently, it believes that a second Presidential Order to decongest prisons would be more effective, especially now that COVID-19 seems to be spreading like wildfire across the nation.
The first presidential decree saw 574 prisoners released from prison. Nevertheless, Horizon Institute has noted that the country’s prisons are just as congested as ever. It faulted the initial pardon for being “too limited in scope.”
